INSIDE THE BULLS.

Bulls Have Jewelry Belonging To Rodman

Team Doesn't Know Where To Send His Ring

February 04, 1999|By Terrence E. Armour, Tribune Staff Writer.

Dennis Rodman, where are you? Bulls General Manager Jerry Krause would like to know.

"We want Dennis to come in here and get his ring or get to a place we can get his ring to him," Krause said Wednesday after presenting the Bulls' latest championship rings to the holdovers from last season--seven players and three coaches. "We don't have a place where we can send him his ring. I don't know where Dennis is."

The Los Angeles Lakers are the latest team said to be interested in the services of the cross-dressing, tattoo-wearing rebounding specialist. Orlando, Miami and the New York Knicks also have been mentioned. Despite Krause's insistence that the Bulls have no interest in Rodman returning, they just might need him most of all.

In their two exhibition games against the Indiana Pacers, the Bulls were outrebounded 92-68. Exploiting Rodman's absence, the Pacers grabbed six offensive rebounds down the stretch in their 89-83 victory Monday at Market Square Arena.

Krause, however, isn't at all interested in bringing Rodman back. So when the season gets under way for the Bulls on Friday in Utah, the board work will have to be done by committee, with five men expected to do the work of one guy best known for wearing technicolor hair.

"We're going to have to use more of a team rebounding concept as opposed to having great individual rebounding every time out of the box," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said. "You could always count on that from Dennis. You could always count on that from Horace (Grant) in years past. We've put an emphasis on putting five guys back on the defensive board every time that the ball goes up, making sure we have at least three guys in the rebounding pocket."

It could be that the Bulls will miss Rodman almost as much as they will miss Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Rodman, who has won an NBA-record seven straight rebounding titles, averaged 15.5 rebounds per game in his three seasons in Chicago.

"It's been incredible," Randy Brown said. "Michael and Scottie have always been there for us, but Dennis did a lot of things that a lot of people didn't want to do."

The ring thing: With so many of last season's players gone, an official ring ceremony would be difficult to stage, so the Bulls held a small ring presentation at the Berto Center before Wednesday's practice.

Krause gave rings to members of the championship squad who are still around: Brown, Ron Harper, Bill Wennington, Dickey Simpkins, Toni Kukoc, Rusty LaRue and Keith Booth. Assistant coaches Tex Winter, Bill Cartwright and Frank Hamblen also received their rings.

"We had a little private thing where everybody got congratulated," Brown said. "Jerry made some comments. It was good. It wasn't the same as having all the guys back, but it was still like being home in our little nest upstairs."

The Bulls will have a special ring ceremony for Phil Jackson on April 4, Krause said, and a Bulls representative will present rings to Pippen, Luc Longley, Steve Kerr, Scott Burrell, Joe Kleine and Jud Buechler sometime this season. Jordan received his ring at his retirement press conference.

"There will be a special night for Phil," Krause said. "And each player will be taken care of in a special way."

The Bulls' newcomers got to see the rings.

"The young people coming in here have to understand what this tradition has been over the last 10 years and what it means for the future," Krause said. "We gave the rings to the young people to look at and said hopefully someday you can be part of it when we do it again."

Priest released: The Bulls trimmed their roster to 15, waiving forward Matt Steigenga and center Priest Lauderdale. Teams can carry 14 players the first two weeks of the season and can have as many as three players on the injured list.

The Bulls considered putting the 7-foot-4-inch Lauderdale on the injured list because of a chronic foot problem that hampers his movement up and down the court.

"Right now his feet will not allow him to play," Krause said.

Banged up: With Lauderdale gone, the Bulls could find themselves with a hole in the middle. Wennington practiced only briefly Wednesday because of a bruised shooting hand suffered on the last play against the Pacers on Monday. Wennington is wearing a soft cast, and Floyd is concerned because it's on his shooting hand.

Floyd is considering moving Wennington from the starting lineup to his customary role as the No. 2 center, giving the team a shooter off the bench. Andrew Lang would likely move onto the first unit.

School's in session: The Bulls announced the start of Chicago Bulls Basketball Schools, a summer training program for girls and boys ages 6-14. The weeklong camps will be held from June to mid-August at more than 100 locations in the Chicago area.

Bobby Hansen, a former Bulls guard and member of the 1992 championship team, will serve as director of the program, which will cost $189.

The Bulls also will sponsor a series of free camps at Chicago-area YMCAs. For more information call 1-630-GOBULLS.